Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

A rural Georgia school bus company goes big on EVs

Jun 14, 2023
The 95-year-old Blue Bird Corp. sees its future in electric school buses, with a boost from federal incentives.
Blue Bird has capacity to manufacture up to four electric buses a day, but it’s building a new facility to be able to build up to 20 a day by the end of the year.
Matthew Pearson/WABE

EPA proposes new limits on forever chemicals in drinking water

Mar 16, 2023
PFAS are linked to health issues including cancer. Critics are concerned about the costs of complying with the proposed standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Why you should care about a Supreme Court decision on the "administrative state"

Executive agencies implement laws passed by Congress. The conservative legal movement seeks to limit their power.
The court might rule this week on a case involving the Environmental Protection Agency that’s part on an ongoing legal debate about the powers of the executive branch.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Stepping up the technology to find methane leaks

Nov 2, 2021
The EPA has proposed new limits on methane emissions from oil and natural gas facilities, which already leak more than the agency estimates.
The Environmental Protection Agency is calling for oil and gas companies to find and fix leaks of the greenhouse gas methane. The technology for doing so includes lasers and drones.
Mario Tama via Getty Images

To control methane emissions, the EPA seeks better ways to measure them

Aug 23, 2021
Environmental groups argue that the oil-and-gas industry emits nearly twice as much of the greenhouse gas as the agency reports.
The EPA is hosting a workshop on methane-detection technology after experts said emissions have been underestimated.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images

EPA decision could make it harder to impose environmental rules

Dec 31, 2018
Coal mining companies and power plants that burn coal are trying to sort out the implications of a deregulatory move by the Trump administration late Friday. The EPA is proposing to re-think rules cutting the air pollutant mercury – it’s a toxin which can impact the brain development of babies. For now, the agency says […]

Pruitt out, but not many changes expected at EPA

Jul 5, 2018
Supporters, foes and independent observers of the Trump administration agree that deregulation will remain a top priority.
Environmental activists protest outside of the Harvard Club where Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt was scheduled to speak, June 20, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Critics fear EPA changes will give big industry more sway over science

Mar 29, 2018
Under the new policy, academic study authors will have to share their raw data, leaving it vulnerable to distortion, some worry.
“Data needs to be transparent and objective for the American people to consume,” says Scott Pruitt, Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Above, Pruitt answers questions at a White House briefing in June.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The EPA adds sites to its Superfund list, but no budget increase for oversight

Dec 11, 2017
The Environmental Protection Agency has announced 21 new places to be deemed Superfund sites, areas with toxic pollution around the country. Being added to the Superfund list means federal officials oversee the cleanup. Yet the White House budget proposal includes a 30 percent cut for the Superfund program.